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The document outlines key concepts in biology and human behavior, focusing on the structure and function of neurons, the nervous system, and the brain's role in consciousness and behavior. It discusses neurotransmitters, the central and peripheral nervous systems, and the impact of heredity and culture on behavior. Additionally, it highlights the relationship between genetics, evolutionary psychology, and behavior through various studies.

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hardikgay34
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2 views

ss4-5

The document outlines key concepts in biology and human behavior, focusing on the structure and function of neurons, the nervous system, and the brain's role in consciousness and behavior. It discusses neurotransmitters, the central and peripheral nervous systems, and the impact of heredity and culture on behavior. Additionally, it highlights the relationship between genetics, evolutionary psychology, and behavior through various studies.

Uploaded by

hardikgay34
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2.

BIOLOGY
AND HUMAN
BEHAVIOR
CHAPTER OUTLINE

▪Neurons: Building Blocks of the Nervous System


▪The Nervous System: Its Basic Structure and Functions
▪The Brain: Where Consciousness……….Is
▪The Brain and Human Behavior: Where Biology and
Consciousness Meet
▪Heredity and Behavior: Genetics and Evolutionary Psychology
▪Culture and Behavior
NEURONS: BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE NERVOUS
SYSTEM

▪ Neurons are cells specialized for receiving, processing, and moving information. They are made up of a cell body, an axon, and one
or more dendrites.
▪ Action potentials are rapid changes in the electrical properties of the cell membranes of neurons. They constitute a mechanism by
which information travels through the nervous system. Graded potentials occur within a neuron in response to a physical stimulus
or stimulation by another neuron; they weaken quickly, and their strength is directly proportional to the intensity of the physical
stimulus that produced them. Neurons communicate that by means of neurotransmitters across the tiny gaps (synapses) that
separate them.
▪ Neurotransmitters produce one of two effects: Excitatory effects make it more likely that a nerve cell will fire; inhibitory effects
make it less likely that the cell will fire.
▪ Many drugs produce their effects by influencing synaptic transmission. Agonists are drugs that mimic the impact of
neurotransmitters at specific receptors; drugs that inhibit their impact are termed antagonists.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF A
NEURON
NEUROTRANSMITTERS

▪Acetylcholine
▪Dopamine
▪Serotonin
▪Endorphins
▪GABA
▪Norepinephrine
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: ITS BASIC STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTIONS

▪ The central nervous system (CNS) includes the brain and the
spinal cord. The spinal cord carries sensory information from
receptors of the body to the brain via afferent nerve fibers and
carries information from the brain to muscles and gland via
efferent nerve fibers. It also plays an important role in reflexes.
▪ The peripheral nervous system consists of the somatic and
autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system connects the
brain and spinal cord to voluntary muscles throughout the body; the
autonomic nervous system connects the central nervous system to
internal organs and glands and to muscles over which we have little
voluntary control.
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: ITS BASIC STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTIONS

▪ The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for using


energy, whereas the parasympathetic nervous system activates
processes that conserve the body’s energy.
▪ The endocrine system is an internal communication system
consisting of glands that release hormones into the bloodstream.
▪ The endocrine system includes the pituitary and adrenal glands,
plus several others.
THE BRAIN: WHERE CONSCIOUSNESS……….IS

▪ The brain stem includes the medulla, pons, and cerebellum and
is concerned primarily with the regulation of basic bodily
functions. The cerebellum, however, may also be involved in
higher cognitive processes, such as learning.
▪ What are the functions of the hypothalamus and thalamus?
The hypothalamus is a brain structure involved in the regulation
of motivated behavior and emotion. The thalamus serves as a
relay station, directing afferent messages to appropriate brain
regions.
▪ Recent studies indicate that some murderers may show reduced
activity in portions of the brain that act as a brake on the limbic
system and that play a role in fear conditioning.
▪ The cerebral cortex is the hub for higher mental processes such
as thinking, planning, reasoning, and memory.
THE BRAIN: WHERE CONSCIOUSNESS……….IS

▪ Split-brain persons are individuals whose cerebral hemispheres


have been isolated from each other through surgery. Evidence
these persons provide suggests that the left hemisphere is
specialized for verbal tasks, whereas the right hemisphere is
specialized for perceptual tasks and the expression and
recognition of emotions.
▪ PET scans of normal persons reveal that when they speak or
work with numbers, activity in the left hemisphere increases.
When they work on perceptual tasks, activity increases in the right
hemisphere.
▪ These methods involve examining the effects of damage to
various portions of the brain or nervous system, recording and
stimulating neural activity, and obtaining images of the intact
living brain.
THE BRAIN AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: WHERE
BIOLOGY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET
▪ The brain processes information in parallel, in many modules.
▪ Evidence indicates that visual information about object identification is
processed separately than information about where an object is or how we can
react to it.
▪ Speech production involves the flow of information from sensory association
areas to the posterior language area and then to Broca’s area. Comprehension
of speech involves a flow of information from Wernicke’s area to the posterior
language area and then to sensory association areas and back again.
▪ What portions of the brain are involved in relational reasoning? Such
reasoning seems to occur primarily in the prefrontal cortex.
▪ What evidence suggests that the words and music in songs are processed
by different modules within the brain? Words that are sung off key and
words that have incongruous meanings produce two distinctly different
event-related potentials (ERPs) simultaneously.
HEREDITY AND BEHAVIOR: GENETICS AND EVOLUTIONARY
PSYCHOLOGY

▪ They do this primarily through twin studies and adoption


studies.
▪ What is heritability? Heritability is defined as the extent to which
variations among individuals with respect to a given aspect of
behavior or a given trait are due to genetic factors.
▪ The Decode scientists are attempting to relate genetic anomalies
to medical records, in order to identify genetic causes of major
illnesses.
▪ Dominance provides males with access to more females, and so
increases the number of offspring they father. For females,
access to more males dies not necessarily lead to more offspring,
so there is less reason for females to seek dominance.

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